Damn, well I’m certainly glad the transponder worked.
Yesterday I did the 6km Tough Guy n Gal challenge, and this is one of the first thoughts that came to my mind.
Why? – You might ask.
Well, I spent 1 hour, 19 minutes and 55 seconds crawling through mud, tripping over and slipping and clammering over wooden obstacles – and I wanted an official time to recognise my efforts through this strenuous ordeal.
To think back to the number of times my foot got stuck in mud and I’d have to use muscles, I didn’t know I had, to pull my leg out – I’m pretty impressed with how durable the transponders at the event were. (And I do hope no-one lost theirs in the mud because they didn’t tape their shoe properly).
But I learned a few key things today:
1. Mud is very hard to make your way through when you’re waist or even chest deep in it.
2. I’m pretty sure there was cow s#$% in the mud – noone told me that when I signed up.
3. Using someone as a guide in front of you to suss out which areas are safe to step on, is a very good idea.
–> I can liken this to my software testing learning journey where people have given me guidance in how to go about things.
4. Some patches, which looked deceptively appealing to place your feet on, only served to suck my foot in and get me stuck – numerous times.
–> We could possibly liken this to areas of software that seem good when you first look at it, but when you start to play around – you run into problems again and again.
5. The comradeship was impressive and I loved being part of a massive group of people who are working towards a common goal.
–> And the same applies to testing. Since I started getting involved in forums, discussions, social media with the software testing community, I’ve gotta say – I love knowing that there are other people who are working towards the same goals as me 🙂
Looking back on the ordeal, I’m not sure whether or not I would do it again.
Don’t get me wrong – I loved the sense of achievement that came with finishing the race, but my nose is really sensitive and I struggled big-time with the mud.
To anyone who is considering entering this next year, I say: Go for it!
This event is a great way to go outside your comfort zone and see what you’re made of 🙂
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